Joel Campbell

He made his Premier League debut on 23 August in a 2–2 draw against Everton at Goodison Park, coming off the bench to replace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the 74th minute of the match.

Campbell's first Arsenal start came in the third round of the League Cup on 23 September, lining up in attack with Alexis Sánchez and Lukas Podolski in a 1–2 home defeat against Southampton.

BBC Sport described Campbell and Podolski as "largely anonymous" during the match.

He made his debut for Lorient as a 79th-minute substitute for Grégory Bourillon in the 1–1 draw away to Sochaux, and created the assist for Innocent Emeghara to score and earn Lorient an away point.

On 1 October, he scored his first goal for Lorient against Valenciennes in the 2–0 win, Campbell's right-footed shot found the bottom left hand corner of the goal.

On 26 October, Campbell scored his second goal for Lorient in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Montpellier.

He scored his third goal also against Montpellier in a 2–1 win which proved to be the winner.

Joel Nathaniel Campbell Samuels (born 26 June 1992 ) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a forward for Alajuelense and the Costa Rica national team.

Campbell's career began with Saprissa in 2009 before being sent on loan to Puntarenas in January 2011.

Campbell joined Arsenal in 2011 and was thereafter loaned out to French side Lorient, Spanish club Real Betis and Greek outfit Olympiacos.

On 28 July 2011, Costa Rican television reported that Campbell had come to an agreement with Arsenal, after having been discovered by club scout Danny Karbassiyoon.

Campbell later said that while he had not yet signed, talks were taking place.

On 6 August, Costa Rican media reported that Campbell was set to sign a five-year deal with Arsenal after rejecting moves to Sevilla and Fiorentina.

According to Campbell, he was also approached by Manchester United's Alex Ferguson, who wanted to bring him under Ryan Giggs' mentorship.

On 19 August 2011, Arsenal confirmed that they had signed Campbell, but it was reported eight days later that he had failed to obtain a work permit to enable him to play in England.

On 6 July 2012, Campbell joined La Liga side Real Betis on a season-long loan.

He made his debut on 25 August, coming on as a substitute for Salvador Agra to play the last 20 minutes in their 2–1 home defeat to Rayo Vallecano.

Campbell played 28 league matches and scored two goals; his first was on 2 December, to give Betis a 3–2 away win against Deportivo de La Coruña, and his second came in the seventh minute of a 2–0 home victory against Levante on 13 January.

Campbell finally received that permit in July 2013.

Unable to get a work permit in England, Campbell along with Gilles Sunu both joined French club Lorient, with Campbell moving on loan and Sunu on a permanent transfer.

By summer 2013, Campbell had been granted a work permit in England but he joined Greek side Olympiacos on another one-year loan.

On 27 October 2013, Campbell starred in Olympiacos' win over OFI Crete, picking up four assists to help his side win 5–1.

Campbell impressed again on 10 November, scoring once and earning two assists as Olympiacos thrashed PAOK 4–0.

He made his competitive Arsenal debut as the club won the 2014 FA Community Shield.

Campbell has so far earned over 130 caps for Costa Rica and was a member of the squad which won the 2014 Copa Centroamericana.

He was also part of the Costa Rican side which reached the last eight of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and played in the 2018 and 2022 editions as well.

On 25 February 2014, Campbell scored the second goal Olympiacos' 2–0 win over Manchester United in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

Olympiacos, however, did not proceed to the next round after losing 3–0 in the second leg.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger announced that Campbell would be part of his first team plans for Arsenal's 2014–15 season.

On 2 August 2014, Campbell scored in Arsenal's 5–1 win over Benfica in the Emirates Cup.

Eight days later in the 2014 FA Community Shield, he replaced Aaron Ramsey for the final five minutes of the 3–0 win over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.

He was again sent on loan to La Liga team Villarreal before he scored his first Arsenal goal in 2015.

Campbell additionally helped Costa Rica get to the quarter-finals of the 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cups, as well as the semi-finals of the 2017 Gold Cup.

On 24 January 2015, Villarreal announced the signing of Campbell on loan until the end of the season.

On 10 May, he scored his first goal for the team, the only goal in a victory over fellow Valencians Elche, which secured sixth place for The Yellow Submarine in La Liga and entry into the following season's UEFA Europa League.

After returning from his loan at Villarreal, Campbell started his first game of the season in a 2–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup third round on 23 September 2015.

On 31 October, due to injuries to Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell made his first Premier League start for the club against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, scoring his first competitive goal in a 3–0 win.

Having scored his first Premier League goal, Campbell scored his first Emirates Stadium goal against Sunderland on 6 December, the first for Arsenal in a 3–1 win.

The sides faced at the Emirates again in the FA Cup third round on 9 January 2016, with Campbell again scoring Arsenal's first as they matched the scoreline they achieved just over a month earlier.

During an April 2020 interview for TD Más, Campbell recalled his frustration during this time, revealing that Arsenal had declined an offer by Benfica to sign him, because "they [Arsenal] told me they needed me because Giroud was injured," but Arsenal nonetheless decided to sign Danny Welbeck.